


It had always been this way

by EmyLilas



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/F, and I wish Izzy had come back, because they had such a good chemistry, slow burn coming to an end, the team is here too but not as main protagonists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28453881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmyLilas/pseuds/EmyLilas
Summary: When a case got in the way of Jack's Friday night plans and she forgot to warn Izzy, Izzy had no other options than showing up unannounced at NCIS. Little did she know it would force them to finally take that step they had been too scared to take over the last years.
Relationships: Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane/Isabel Monet
Kudos: 7





	It had always been this way

**Author's Note:**

> English isn’t my first language, apologize for any possible mistakes.  
> So I’ve been having a hard time writing over the past few weeks and finally this one kinda wrote itself in a day. It isn’t a New Year fic because I am terrible at positing with a deadline but I still wish you all a happy new year, hoping the next one will make it up for 2020.

When the suspect had appeared not to be the murderer, they all knew they would be staying over for the night. It was a Friday night and none of them was too pleased with the idea but they all came along with it, being part of their job. 

When Jack stopped halfway on the stairs, they were all having a break from work. It was almost 10 and they had sent Gibbs picking up take outs for everyone. Jack smiled at how they had managed to convince Gibbs to go, Nick and Ellie could really get on his nerves when they were both hungry. Tim was on the phone, Jack quickly understood he was talking to his kids seeing how his eyes lit up. Kasie was perched on the edge of Ellie’s desk while Jimmy was standing behind Ellie, his elbow on the short wall behind her desk. The three of them were chattering about an event she had no idea about. As for Nick, he was mumbling alone, sitting at his desk. Jack stayed up there for a while, watching the team that had too quickly become more than coworkers. 

“What’s on your mind, Jack?” Leon asked, perching himself on the stairs next to his best friend.

Jack shrugged and offered a soft smile: “I guess I was just realising how things have changed.” Meeting her friend’s eyes, she felt the urge to add: “in a good way, Leon.” They stayed there, watching the NCIS family bickering about something, a smile on their lips. And Jack noticed: “going somewhere?” 

Leon followed her eyes and noticed she was staring at his suitcase: “got called away on a case.”

“Does it mean Gibbs is in charge again?” Jack asked with an amused tone, knowing Gibbs wouldn’t probably be so thrilled about it. Leon nodded, smiling too. “Alright,” she pulled him into a warm embrace, “be safe.” 

He waved goodbye walking towards the elevator as Jack stepped into the bullpen. She heard Tim saying goodbye to the twins and Delilah, and he hung up. Jack perched herself on top of Tim’s desk. She knew he didn’t mind. 

“What’s wrong with Nick?” Jack asked in a whisper, hoping he wouldn’t hear as she saw him throw his phone on his desk in an obvious gesture of anger. They all answered with a shrug. No one knew. 

Nick looked up as he noticed the bullpen had gone silent. “What?” he barked, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. 

Jack’s brows shot up at his tone. The two of them were more alike than they would ever admit it and she knew something was off. Not breaking his gaze, she was determined to stare back until he gave up. And he did, no one could ever win a staring contest with Jacqueline Sloane. Jack rolled her eyes at herself when she remembered it wasn’t completely true. There was one person who could win. But only because she never played fair… 

“I just had plans tonight and it pisses me off that they got cancelled, again.” Before anyone could say anything, he kept going: “I mean why do they always have to keep killing people all the time? Couldn’t they just ask nicely for what they want instead of killing or torturing or abducting? Why does it always have to be murders!”

The rest of the team shared confused looks as Nick kept talking about murders and called-off plans. When she assumed it was reasonable enough to interrupt him, Jack cleared her throat.

“Are you pissed because your plans got called-off or because people are being murdered?” He couldn’t miss the hint of humor in her tone. And if he had, her smile would have given away. 

Nick shook his head: “go ahead, make fun of me as much as you want Jack,” he could pretend to be mad but his friends’ looks were bringing a smile to his lips, “but I just had such nice plans tonight…” 

Jack stopped paying attention when Nick started telling his teammates about his initial plans. She heard them laugh but she didn’t really know why. Her mind was wandering, thinking about her own plans. _Damn_. 

She jumped off the desk and rushed her way upstairs. When she entered her office, she looked for her phone everywhere. On the top of her desk, under files, under notebooks, on the ground, behind the cushions, in the slot of the couch, on the coffee table, she even checked under the couch. That’s when she heard chuckles. 

“Lost anything?” Ellie asked, standing on the doorway with Kasie and Nick. 

Jack groaned as an answer and pressed her forehead against the floor. Why did they follow her? When Jack had walked out of the bullpen in such a hurry, they had all thought it was an emergency. But it had soon become clear she had just lost her phone. Why she needed it so much at the present time, they couldn’t tell, but they had to admit the scene of Jacqueline Sloane crawling on the floor was making the evening a lot less boring.

“I’ve lost my phone,” Jack finally answered as she sat on the floor, her back pressed against the sofa. Nick was about to answer when she shook her head: “no, I need it now, it can’t wait.” His eyebrows shot up in interest as he understood it was for personal reasons ㅡ would have it been professional she would have been rather worried than annoyed. Again, she cut him off before he could speak: “let’s just say you’re not the only one who had plans tonight.”

It was all it took to catch Ellie’s interest. She stepped in the office and walked directly to the armchair under Jack’s incredulous look. “You had a date?” The younger agent asked with interest. 

Again, Jack groaned. Back on her feet, she kept upending her office in hope that she may find her phone somewhere. At Nick’s clear of throat, she turned around, hands on her hips. His face said it all: he knew where her phone was. But his smirk also gave him away: he would only tell her if she told them about her plans. She tried to discourage him, staring at the agent with her most serious look but he didn’t flinch which really surprised her. 

“Fine,” Jack threw her hands in the air in surrender, “I was just supposed to meet with Izzy and I forgot to tell her I wouldn’t make it.”

Nick’s smile faded a bit, disappointed that she didn’t have a date but only was supposed to meet her friend. But Ellie stared at Jack with a suspicious expression: “haven’t you spent last Friday with Izzy too?” 

Jack didn’t turn to have a better look at the other woman but she looked at her from the corner of her eyes. And soon, it was Kasie who spoke: “and the one before I asked you if you wanted to go watch a movie and you said you were seeing her,” she said it outloud but it was more for herself, as if she was solving a puzzle.

Except there was nothing to solve. 

Nick still didn’t see a reason for Kasie’s and Ellie’s sudden curiosity. Jack was seeing her friend a lot. But he knew Ellie well. And when he suddenly remembered Jack had told Ellie about her history with Izzy, he realized that, maybe, there was something she knew that was an important piece of information. 

He hadn’t noticed his inner wonders were reflecting on his face until Jack spoke to him: “the look on your face is priceless, Nicholas.” 

He kept staring at her as if he was trying to solve the same puzzle Kasie had been trying to solve. When his eyes and mouth formed an o-shape, Jack could not not roll her eyes. “Agent Monet is your date? You’re dating Agent Monet? You?” 

All of the sudden, Kasie’s, Nick’s and Ellie’s eyes were on her, waiting for an answer: “no, of course not!” Jack rolled her eyes again, even chuckled a bit. She would have wanted her chuckle to sound as if the idea was nonsense to her but it definitely sounded more like she was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. By the look on their face, she knew they didn’t believe her. “We’re just friends,” she added emphasizing the last word. 

Yes, it had not always been this way. Yes, the thought of being more than friends again might have crossed her mind lately. But she wasn’t lying. Izzy and her weren’t dating. 

“I’m not dating Izzy,” Jack repeated in an awkward laugh, desperate for them to believe her. 

“She’s telling the truth, no matter how much she would like it, we’re not dating.”

Jack sighed and slightly tilted her head back as she heard Izzy’s voice from the doorstep. She couldn’t prevent her lips from curling into an amused smile at her friend’s usual smugness. Of course Izzy would say something like that. She rolled her eyes when she noticed how Nick, Ellie and Kasie were going back and forth between the two old friends. 

“Izzy,” Jack greeted her with the same half-amused half-annoyed tone she always used with her friend, “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you, we got call...”

Isabel shook her head, throwing a backpack on the ground and falling on Jack’s desk chair: “I can’t believe you let me down for salsa night!” Jack groaned in despair: they would never stop teasing her about this. She had tried to silently ask Izzy not to say anything in front of her team but apparently, Izzy had very little regard for her head shaking. “Salsa night!” Izzy repeated to make sure Jack understood how it felt like treason. 

“Wait,” Kasie interrupted, “salsa?”

“That’s what you’ve been doing with your Friday nights?”

Jack stared at Izzy who was only offering a big smile in return. She bit her lips looking at the woman on her chair, wondering how she could ever get revenge for that. Surely Izzy knew what she was thinking, her smile was only getting wider. 

“So you’re sure you two are not dating?” Ellie asked, disappointment clear in her tone.

Izzy laughed: “you sound as sorry as Jack!”

“I’m not sorry that we’re not dating,” Jack retorted. The banter was usual with Izzy but she couldn’t have that in front of her own fellow agents. They had just started to let it go with her supposed _thing_ with Gibbs, she didn’t need them to jump on the next gossip. “We both know I’m too much for you,” Jack added with a smirk, looking right into her friend’s blue eyes.

They were sparkling with mischief, as they usually were when the two of them started this teasing fight about them being together. It had always been this way. “Stop lying to yourself, you’re the one who couldn’t handle me, Jackie Jack,” the psychologist cringed at the nickname, “experience proved it.”

Jack bit her lips some more, not believing Izzy would actually dare bringing this in front of her team. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see how the three of them suddenly seemed a lot less disappointed that she had only been dancing with Izzy. She tried to hold back her giggle when _dancing around Izzy_ popped up in her mind. Because of course, the two of them had been dancing around each other for years. It had always been this way. 

The staring contest had not stopped even though Jack knew she couldn’t possibly win this. Izzy somehow always managed to win, distracting her to ensure her victory. Jack hadn’t been lying when she had said nothing was ever fair with Izzy. Except it hadn’t been as bitter as Ellie had thought. 

“Don’t tell me you’re not gonna strike back? Where’s the Jack we know?” Nick tried. He really wanted to know more about the unspoken thing that had been mentioned. By the way Kasie nodded next to him, he knew all of them were interesting. This office had lacked gossip recently, and none of them actually ever thought it would be possible. 

But neither Izzy nor Jack were paying attention to their audience, too busy trying to win the staring contest. They were both way too stubborn to let this go but eventually, Jack broke under Izzy’s mischievous glare and naughty smile. Why did she always end up losing? She was good at this game, she was even better than Gibbs and that said something, so why was it that she couldn’t seem to be able to win against Izzy? 

“And she’s losing again…” Izzy whispered proudly, smirking at her friend who could only shake her head in exasperation. Izzy was infuriating. And yet… “Well, please next time try to remember to let me know you won’t make it. I don’t ever want to have to dance with Suzy again. Do you hear me? Ever again.” 

As Jack nodded, not without a playful smile dancing on her lips, Izzy felt satisfied. She got back on her feet, stretched a bit and bent over to take her backpack. “You can’t leave like that,” Nick said, jumping on his feet too, ready to fight to have her stay if it ever came to that. 

“Well, although you don’t seem super busy right now, I guess you’re not staying at work on a Friday night out of sheer pleasure so I’d rather get going.”

Jack could finally sigh of relief: “yes, it’d be good.”

She knew she shouldn’t have said anything the moment Izzy turned her head to look back at her, her eyes sparkling with mischief again: “see? We both are well aware that you can’t focus properly when I’m around.”

“Only because I’m too busy wanting to make you shut up.”

“Well, you should definitely try harder, I really wouldn’t mind… quite the opposite.” 

“Izzy,” Jack shook her head in disbelief: how could she turn anything into a dirty allusion? 

“Jackie Jack,” she answered with a smirk. 

“Please go away.”

“Perhaps try begging some more to see?”

“Only in your dreams,” was answered with the biggest eyes roll Jack ever managed to make.

“Oh my god, how do you know?”

“Just stop fighting and start dating already,” Kasie mumbled on the couch. Of course, it was entertaining watching them trying to hide their sexual tension with constant teasing but at this point, considering they had been friends for more than a decade, if not a lot more, Kasie really couldn’t understand why they had never crossed the line. 

Izzy's brows shot up as she was peering at her long-date friend. Perhaps they should just take the young forensic scientist's advice. It probably was the logic next step to their relationship. But behind Izzy's nonchalance and Jack's annoyance was their common fear it would ruin their friendship. A friendship that had been damaged before and none of them were willing to risk it again. Not so soon after finding their way back to the other, much to Izzy's efforts to rekindle with Jack.

"Night' everyone," Izzy finally spoke, waving goodbye at the younger persons in the room before sending a soft smile to her friend. 

"Wait you can't leave now!" Nick repeated, under Jack's annoyed glare. "We need to see it," his head turned to share a look with his friends, "don't we?"

Kasie and Ellie shrugged, they weren't sure what Nick was talking about but since he probably has a very clear idea of what he wanted they both nodded in agreement. After all, no harm could be done.

"To see it?" Izzy asked, her shoulder pressed against the doorframe, curious to know what he was truly asking.

Jack rolled her eyes at her: "why can't you just leave?" she grunted behind her teeth. 

"And miss an opportunity to bug you? Come on Jack, you know me better than that!" Izzy offered her most charming smile, she knew Jack couldn't stay mad at her for too long. And if she stayed, Izzy could always bring Bora Bora back on the table. It always managed to bring a smile on Jack's lips. Sure, it was an annoyed smile but it was still better than daggers dancing in her brown eyes.

"We want a salsa demo!" 

"Never going to happen!" Jack and Izzy said in unison, both looking terrified the other would have said yes and suddenly relieved none of them actually loved annoying the other enough to dance in Jack's office.

"But why?" Nick whimpered like a kid who was being denied sweets. 

"I'm not sharing Jack's dancing with anyone," Izzy answered, flashing a grin at the psychologist who was staring at her, incredulity plastered on her face. Of course, the truce couldn't last…

"Good, because I'm not sharing it either…" she mumbled, pressing her back against the wall of her office, saying as far away as possible from everyone else. 

"Surely you have videos," Nick tried again, determined to see Jack's dancing salsa with Izzy. He couldn't decide what his motives were: enjoying the view or finally finding Jack's pressure point? 

Jack closed her eyes, praying Izzy wouldn't let her down because she knew there were videos. Not from the dance classes but from Izzy's place, when they both had too much to drink and thought it'd be fun to record their tango session. And from what Jack remembered how that night — she had never accepted to watch the video, scared of what she could see, even when Izzy had told her it was definitely worth watching — it would be worse to show Nick that specific moment than dancing naked in her office. Not to be dramatic.

"Of course," Izzy admitted and Jack bit her lips dreading what would come after, "but again, I'm not sharing that with you."

"Not even to drive Jack insane?" Kasie asked, surprised. She really thought Agent Monet wouldn't have missed an opportunity to torture her friend. Which, now that she was thinking about it, was a really special friendship goal. 

"I may enjoy driving her crazy but I don't hate her," Izzy retorted a bit offended that someone could forget the fact she really cared about her Jack. 

The phone on Jack's desk cut off Ellie before she could speak and back up her friends, wanting to watch that video just as much as them. Perhaps they could ask McGee to hack into Izzy's computer… 

"Gibbs is back," Jack let them know after picking up the phone, "with food," she added, a smile on her lips as her stomach groaned in approval. She stayed quiet for a second, listening to what Gibbs had to say. "For Izzy?" her tone was higher than usual, she wasn't the only one surprised, they all looked at her curious to know more, "but how did you know she would be here? Gibbs? Don't hang up on me! Gibbs?" 

Jack groaned, her arms crossed on her desk, her head fell between them. "Gibbs has food for you too," she mumbled. 

"That man's terrifying," Izzy whispered, admirative that he knew she would come to Jack tonight but also a bit uncomfortable that a man she had only met one had been able to figure her out. 

"Wait until you have to fight him for Jack," Nick warned her, a self-satisfied smile on his lips as he passed over the FBI agent with his two friends, the three of them eager to get some food. 

Jack mumbled something, her head still buried between her arms. Izzy looked at her from the doorway, enjoying the fact they were finally alone. She loved watching Jack, perhaps a bit too much if she was completely honest. But Jack had never really seemed to mind.

"What was that about?" Izzy asked, walking back into Jack's office, to stand behind her. She placed a hand on the blonde's neck, softly squeezing it. Jack smiled between her arms, enjoying the warmth of Izzy's palm spreading through her neck. "Jackie Jack?"

"Stop calling me that, I'm begging you."

Izzy smiled. She just loved using that nickname. "Alright then how should I call you?"

"What about Jack?" The psychologist mumbled sarcastically, relaxing the moment Izzy's other hand fell on her shoulders and started rubbing the knots. 

"Everyone calls you Jack," Izzy whispered, focused on massaging Jack's shoulders, "you're tensed."

"And you wonder why?" It didn't sound as dry as it would usually have. How could she snap at Izzy when she was making her feel so good? 

"Stop lying, you like having me around, Jacqueline," Izzy answered, boldly placing a soft kiss on the top of Jack's head.

"Jacqueline? How original…" Jack teased. Teasing Izzy was easier and safer than acknowledging the soft gesture. And she tied not to focus either on how she loved the way her name sounded when Izzy was saying it. She groaned at herself, she was being such a cliché...

"I can start calling you babe in front of your team if you'd rather…"

Jack didn't answer. Her eyes were closed as she was fully enjoying Izzy's fingers rubbing her skin. A soft moan escaped her lips when she untied a knot. Izzy blushed. It was unusual for them to find themselves in this situation. At least, sober. 

"You still have that video?" Jack asked, raising her head slightly so she could rest her chin on the back of her hands.

"Why are you asking?"

"Should I watch it?" Jack turned her head, pressing her cheek on her arms so she could look at Izzy.

"What do you think you're going to see?"

Jack smiled sadly: "I don't know, us being us, completely wasted," she paused for a second, looking for Izzy's eyes, "and stop answering my questions with questions, it's annoying."

"You do that all the time," Izzy retorted, moving her hand to place it on Jack's cheek. 

"I'm entitled to it, remember, the psychology degree and all?" She leaned in the touch. 

"You're tired," the FBI agent noticed. As a confirmation, Jack closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Izzy's palm against her cheek. 

"Should I watch it?" She repeated her question.

Izzy bit her lips, looking at the wall for a minute, feeling like it would help her to find something to say. "No," she finally answered, "I don't want you to be all distant after you've watched because you're feeling embarrassed."

Jack's eyes flew open in a heartbeat: "right because now I am not completely freaking out about what I possibly did."

Izzy kneeled down and turned the desk to face Jack. She placed her hands on Jack's lap: "we were dancing tango, drunk. You don't have to worry."

"I remember we kissed," as Izzy was suddenly avoiding eye contact, Jack's eyes widened, "did we do more than kissing?"

Izzy bit her lips. Perhaps she could run away now. If she was fast enough, Jack wouldn't catch her. But soft fingers grabbed her chin and forced her to look into worried brown eyes: "would it be that terrible?" Izzy asked dryly.

"No," Jack answered softly without thinking much about it. She didn't know if it was the soft lights of her office, the late hour of the night or the result of Izzy's massage but she felt good enough to be honest. But when she noticed Izzy's big grin, she frowned. "What?"

"We kissed yes and we danced and kissed again and then collapsed on my couch and fell asleep like we hadn't slept in weeks…nothing more." Izzy was triumphing and Jack didn't like that. Pieces were starting to assemble in her mind.

"You lied to me?" She exclaimed loudly. "I can't believe it!" 

"I've been falling at lying to you for more than a decade, Jack, I can't believe you didn't see through this one!" Her blue eyes were sparkling in glory but her triumphant smile faded the moment she noticed hurt settling in her friend's eyes.

"Alright," Jack cleared her throat before standing and gesturing towards the door, "you need to go now."

"Jack," Izzy began talking, understanding the situation was getting out of hands. 

But Jack shook her head: "just go." Her tone was severe and dry. 

Izzy shivered: "I've only lied to you because I…"

"I don't care about your reasons, Izzy!" Jack shouts at the other woman, clenching her fists both in anger and pain. How had she been so stupid? Why had she thought Izzy was capable of change? "I want you to go."

"That's not happening," Izzy retorted with a calm but determined voice, "I'm not leaving here before giving you an explanation." 

She noticed Jack was looking over her shoulder. Izzy crossed her arms on her chest, staring closely at her friend. How did she let things become that bad? She knew _he_ was standing behind her.

"Everything alright, Jack?" Gibbs asked, knowing the answer. He had rarely seen Jack like that.

The blonde nodded: "Izzy was just leaving." 

"Actually I wasn't," Izzy corrected, turning to face Gibbs. The staring contest started between them. She was silently urging him to leave and he was expecting just the same from her. "Seems like we're having that fight in the end," Izzy murmured, referring to Nick's words she was now understanding. 

Jack sighed, mad at Izzy for lying to her — she was more mad at herself for confessing to Izzy she was alright with a possible them but hating Izzy was just easier right now and she would have never said such a thing if Izzy hadn't been playing her — and mad at Gibbs for thinking she couldn't handle Izzy on her own. She wasn't that much angry anymore but she walked by them, turned her back to meet their surprised looks and with "I'm not gonna stay here and silently watch your little contest" she was gone downstairs, meeting the team and food.

"Jack!" Izzy tried to call her back but she knew just how stubborn her friend was. "Why did you have to come?" 

"I'm not the one to blame here," Gibbs warned her before she could say something she would regret, "what did you do to her?" His tone was making it clear she'd better not mess up with him.

Izzy considered striking back. She didn't like the fact he walked in, interrupting them. She didn't like the fact he seemed to believe Jack needed his protection. She didn't like what he was apparently thinking, that she could deliberately want to hurt Jack. But instead, she fell backward on Jack's desk chair and buried her head in her hands. 

"I've ruined it. Again. You can assume that after twelve years of friendship I would finally find a way to tell her without ruining everything but it seems to be an impossible task for me to achieve."

Gibbs found himself not knowing what to say. He had suspected it, hearing Jack talking about her friend before. Jack would talk about her friends, about Grace, for example, but never with such passion than when she was talking about Izzy. It was always a big mix of exasperation and love.

"So tell me, you're the legendary Agent Gibbs, surely you know what I should do."

He was about to tell her about his divorces which perhaps helped not making him the man of the situation but Gibbs swallowed back his words, instead he tried to think about what Jack could say. Or Grace, even. Someone who would advise them to be honest about their feelings.

"Stop hiding it behind this game you've been throwing around for the last years, you've wasted enough time don't you think?"

Izzy raised her head: "so your advice is: stop the teasing and flirting and just tell her? Like that's even possible…"

"If you don't you'll lose her again," Gibbs warned her before making his way out. He knew mentioning the fact Izzy had already lost her before would make her think.

He just hadn't expected her to answer: "perhaps I should just drop it. After so many years of being too scared to take that jump, it cannot be good, don't you think? We're better off as friends. Or she's probably better off without me around."

Gibbs frowned: "she must mean very little to you if you're ready to give up after one little failure."

"One? It's more like thousands," Gibbs rolled his eyes at the exaggeration, "and don't you dare implying Jack doesn't matter to me."

Gibbs offered a little smirk: "then you know what to do," and he left her there, pleased of himself.

When he entered the bullpen, Jack made it obvious she was ignoring him. The others didn't know why. They had heard Jack yelling at Izzy earlier, they had seen Gibbs going upstairs to check on her, Jack going downstairs furious and Gibbs not coming back for a while, probably arguing with Izzy.

"Should we go check on Agent Monet to see if she's still alive?" Tim asked, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had settled around Jack and Gibbs. He tried to disappear behind Ellie's desk the moment Jack's angry eyes lay on him.

Izzy appeared on the promenade and Jack turned her back on her, staring at Gibbs's desk instead. The other agents were looking from Izzy to Jack, back to Izzy and then back to Jack, trying to understand the sudden change between them.

Izzy walked to the elevator upstairs under Gibbs's surprised glance: "you're leaving, agent Monnet?" He shot from the bullpen. She looked down at him and nodded before entering the elevator. Gibbs turned his head to look at Sloane: "go."

"I'm sorry?" She almost choked in offense.

"Go after her."

Her dry laugh surprised everyone in the bullpen: "this is never going to happen."

Gibbs sighed, tired. "You want a friend's advice, Jack?" She was about to refuse but he kept talking: "you're a coward. That's why you're not going after her."

"Excuse me?" Jack took a step forward, her jaw tightly clenched in anger.

"You're not mad at her for whatever happened in your office, you're mad at yourself because in twelve years you have never been once able to tell her how you really felt about her. Am I wrong, Jack?" He didn't step back, he knew she needed to hear that. He would have just wanted telling her all that somewhere more private than in front of all their team members. 

They were all watching in awe. They clearly hadn't seen that coming, Gibbs standing up to Jack, Gibbs reprimanding Jack for not being honest about her feelings, Jack supposedly having feelings for Jack. Ellie was suddenly regretting they didn't have popcorn.

"So suddenly you're a relationship expert? You? The very same man who's so afraid to let anyone in that he'd rather end up alone and sad than risking loving someone else?" 

Gibbs knew he deserved that for the way he had treated her before. But they had overcome this, settling in their friendship instead of trying to be something more. They wouldn't have worked out. Gibbs wasn't ready. Jack wasn't either. 

"Just don't make the same mistakes that I've made," he said calmly, trying to balance her anger.

"I am not making a mistake, Gibbs, whatever you think may be between Izzy and I, you're wrong." She didn't know if it was because of her lack of sleep from the precious insomnias she had, but Jack was really starting to think she could end up crying at any time now. 

He knew there was only one last thing he could try: "Then you should at least be honest with her and tell her to stop expecting something from you, because she is." 

"How would you know?" Jack snapped at him.

Gibbs knew he had won: "because she told me. In your office. She just doesn't know how to tell you, Jack."

He could see in her eyes she was softening. And more important, he could see hope sparkling in her eyes again. But her walls raised again and she hid herself behind dryness: "because lying to me is such a great option."

"She said she could explain, didn't she?" Gibbs waited for her to nod, "then let her explain and go from there."

It was like all her anger had been suddenly washed off. Jack stumbled slightly, Gibbs grabbed her arm to help her keep her balance. "What have I done?" She asked in a whisper.

"I guess after twelve years of miscommunication, no one can blame you for overreacting," he offers the explanation knowing she would need it not to blame herself.

A small smile was hanging on her lips: "don't judge my relationship, cowboy."

Gibbs returned her smile, here was the Jack he knew: "twelve years is a long time, even for me." He got a bump in the shoulder for that, but seeing her smile widening, it really didn't matter. "Go, I'm sure she's still around."

Jack perched herself on his desk, shaking her head sadly: "you don't know her, Gibbs."

He shrugged with a smile that let her believe he knew more than she did. "She seems to enjoy a good challenge…"

Jack rolled her eyes: "so what did you do? Dared her to tell me?"

She hadn't heard the sound of the elevator coming to their floor. She hadn't heard the door opening nor footsteps approaching. She hadn't noticed how the others were suddenly tensed. And she had thought Gibbs's smirk was only directed to her. But he was just glad to know Izzy hadn't been foolish enough to leave.

"Something like that, yes… and help me realising that it may actually be my last shot here, so…" Izzy spoke with an uncertain voice. When Jack turned to look at her, she looked down. She couldn't meet her eyes. "Jack I'm…"

"Let's go somewhere else," the psychologist said, suddenly well aware of the other people in the room. They already knew too much, this conversation was definitely not to be continued in public. They both disappeared in the elevator.

"That was something," Kasie spoke after a while. They all nodded. Even Gibbs, before urging them to get back to work. It was enough distraction for the night.

"Do you always trap people in elevators when you're about to have a serious conversation with them?" Izzy asked in a vain attempt to lighten the atmosphere when Jack flitched the emergency stop button.

"You have no idea," Jack whispered before shaking her head. "No more games, Izzy."

The FBI agent nodded. "I promise," and they were both surprised to realise it was the most honest moment they've ever shared. Or were about to. 

"No more lies either."

"I can explain."

"Please," Jack was being careful not to sound too hurt, or too angry, or too dry. 

Izzy slipped against the wall, sitting on the ground. She took a deep breath. She couldn't look at Jack. Not when she was about to tell her things that should have been told years ago.

"I know it was messed up but...you thought there was more than just kissing and dancing and you told me you wouldn't have minded and I guess it was an easier way for me to find out if I could wish for something more between us or not. Easier than just telling you that I may have been in love with you for years now but was too scared to tell you."

Izzy had said all of it very quickly, afraid that if she took her time, she would never be able to tell Jack what she needed to tell her. They were partly lying when they said that speaking out the truth would lift the burden from your chest. In a way, she felt a bit less heavy. But she was feeling like her heart had stopped bearing, waiting for Jack to say something. 

"Are you not gonna say anything?" Izzy asked with a hoarse voice after what seemed like forever.

A smile had appeared on Jack's lips minutes ago but Izzy had been too busy staring at her foot to notice. 

"I'm just messing with you, Isabel," Jack whispered with soft giggles as she kneeled in front of her friend.

Her friend who sighed in relief but softly bumped her hip with her feet: "I guess that's only fair."

"Are you playing fair now?" Jack teased.

"I thought we agreed on no more games," Izzy retorted easily. 

"Smartass." 

The psychologist shifted closer and covered Izzy's hand with hers. They both stayed silent for a moment, processing what had been said. And Izzy mistook it for picking back their old habits: they were hiding behind teasing again.

"I need to get back to work, Izzy…" Jack hated that she had to say it. But a mass murderer was still running free somewhere in DC. She knew Izzy understood. And she did. At least, her nod suggested she did. 

They waited for the elevator doors to open again in silence. Izzy was fidgeting with the cords of her bag, it wasn't like her to be nervous. It was what caught Jack's attention and she knew too well Izzy was struggling with unanswered questions. 

She heard the ding of the elevator. Quickly, before the doors opened, Jack swirled around and cupped Izzy's face. She smiled when she briefly noticed the flash of surprise crossing the other woman's face but she didn't have much time to observe it. Jack leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips.

The doors opened. 

Izzy's hand flew behind Jack's neck and with a soft pressure she pulled them closer. Her other hand seemed to belong on Jack's back, holding her against her.

The doors closed again, after a short time. 

And Jack broke the kiss, trying to ignore Izzy's protests. She pressed her forehead against hers, her hands still cupping her face.

"I have to…"

"Save the world, I know," Izzy whispered. Jack noticed she had never seen her smiling like that before. "Go, Jackie Jack," she placed another kiss on her lips to prevent any further complaints at the nickname.

They reluctantly pulled away. Jack pressed the opening doors button and stepped out. 

"See you tomorrow?" She asked, full of hope.

Izzy winked: "only if you catch the bad guy, I wouldn't want to distract you from your hard work."

Jack rolled her eyes. Izzy would always be Izzy. But she was fine with it, now that she knew they both wanted the same thing.

"You're already distracting me," Jack whispered with a naughty smile before stepping away. 

She rolled her eyes at the younger agents staring at her with such curiosity she started blushing. Her eyes met Gibbs's. 

"Thank you," she mouthed before climbing the stairs to walk to her office, looking for her laptop. Jack smiled at the piece of paper placed on top of it. She recognized Izzy's writing.

"Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to tell you that me teasing you is my own special way to tell you I'm in love with you.  
Wait. I think I just did.  
Love you, Jackie Jack."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So here it is, I’ve been wanting to try something with Izzy and Jack for a while but couldn’t find the will to write. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Take care!


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